To present the Idrija – Cerkno region in a one-day trip is a difficult task, since it is, with its numerous specifics and a diverse surface, definitely one of those regions where a few hours just fly by. You will start the tour in Idrija, where you will first visit Castle Gewerkenegg. It was built in the 16th century as an administrative building for the mercury mine and served as a storage facility for this precious metal. Today, it hosts the Idrija Municipal Museum, where the visitors can learn about the half-millennium history of the mercury mine, the town of Idrija and the Idrija lace.

You will continue the tour with the visit to the tourist mine Anthony's Shaft, where over 1,200 meters of underground shafts leading from the oldest preserved mine entrance dating back to the year 1500 are open for tourists. For almost half a millennium, the miners walked the 300-meter-long shaft when going into the mine and returned exhausted from their daily labour the same way. In the middle of the 18th century, a stone chapel was built at the end of the shaft, featuring a relief of the Holy Trinity and two statutes of the miners’ patrons – St Acacius and St Barbara. You will see drops of mercury, trickling from black slate, get familiar with miners’ work and even meet the cave dwarf, Berkmandlc. The adventure ends with a 116-step climb up the Attem’s shaft. In the former register office, you can also take a look of the extensive and in-depth multimedia presentation of the history and heritage of the Idrija mine.

After lunch, where you will taste and get to know the traditional Idrija žlikrofi with mutton sauce – ‘bakalca’ – and other local specialities, you will continue your way towards Cerkno and visit the Cerkno Museum and in the nearby Novaki, the Partisan Hospital Franja.

Partisan Hospital Franja, an authentic monument from World War II, bears witness to humanity and resourcefulness of the then personnel. It was here, in the narrow Pasice gorge, that the doctors, medical staff and others saved lives and took care of the severely wounded soldiers of the partisan army during the harsh months of the German occupation of the Slovenian territory.